COA opposes the MICRA ballot measure

Proponents of the ballot measure titled, "The Troy and Alana Pack Patient Safety Act of 2014," which would alter the "pain and suffering" damage cap, submitted late last month nearly 850,000 signatures to county registrars for placement of the initiative on the ballot. County registrars are verifying the signatures, and we expect an announcement by mid-May that the ballot proposition has officially qualified to be placed on the November 2014 ballot for voters to decide its fate. This measure would increase the non-economic damages cap on malpractice awards under California's Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) from $250,000 to more than $1 million. The measure contains two other provisions dealing with physician drug testing and prescription drug databases, which were included by proponents in an attempt to gain support among voters. While the drug testing provisions do not impact doctors of optometry, the increased cap on pain and suffering for malpractice awards and a new requirement to check the CURES database when prescribing scheduled drugs would apply to all health care providers, including doctors of optometry. COA has joined together with a broad coalition of health care-related groups to oppose this measure.

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